Alpha Narcissus
Alpha Narcissus is a planetary star system located about 21.4 lightyears from Sol. It is home to four known exoplanets, including an Inner Colony world, Initiation. Main Bodies Stali Stali is an F-class Main Sequence Star at the centre of Alpha Narcissus, providing the system with heat and light; it has a spectral classification of F5V, and a stellar magnitude of 3.03. Like Sol, Stali is a main sequence star, and is composed primarily of ionised hydrogen and helium located in all three zones of the star -- the core, convective zone, and radiative zone. There are trace amounts of iron located within the star as well. Likewise, Stali is fueled by hydrogen fusion. Stali is approximately 1.55 billion years old, and it has an equatorial radius of 925,680.2 kilometres total; in all, the total mass of Stali amounts to roughly 1.38 solar masses. It gives off a very pale yellow, almost white hue, and it is a very colourful star. The colouration of the star is largely due to its temperature of about 6,500 Kelvin (6,200° Celsius). It has a rotational period of about thirty-one days. There are two artificial objects orbiting the star, one being a stellar observational station orbiting at about 0.62 AU from the star, while the other is a relay satellite orbiting at 1.59 AU; the relay satellite maintains an orbit with a relative distance of between 0.35 and 0.45 AU to the innermost exoplanet, Initiation. Aside from these artificial satellites, Stali is orbited by four exoplanets, one known comet, a small asteroid belt, and several Trojans. Initiation Initiation is the innermost exoplanet orbiting Stali, and is a habitable terrestrial planet located 1.46 AU from the star. Initiation is also an Inner Colony world of the human United Earth Government, being home to roughly citizens as well as its own cell of Insurrectionists. The planet is rich in metals such as platinum, nickel, iron, cobalt, and titanium, while the atmosphere is generally Earth-like, consisting of mostly nitrogen and oxygen, with trace amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases. The world has days that are about twenty-five hours long, and years that last 391 and a half days; the equatorial radius of Initiation is 6,142.79 kilometres around, while Initiation’s polar radius is closer to 6,255.21 kilometres. Initiation has a circular orbital eccentricity of 0.13. It has one moon that is 23% smaller than the moon Luna (named Verlaten), and there are four major artificial satellites in orbit around Initiation. These consist of two Orbital Defence Platforms (Arion Station and New Memphis Station), a general-purpose orbital station (the New Tyre Orbital Station), and a single spaceport (the New Utica Spaceport). Fruchtlos The second planet from Stali, Fruchtlos is a barren terrestrial planet with an abundance of iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, aluminium, and lithium, ethane, and propane. The incredibly thin atmosphere consists of almost entirely carbon dioxide, with around 3% of the atmosphere being argon gas and less than 0.5% being oxygen and other gases. Fruchtlos is located 2.47 AU from Stali, has a rotational period of approximately thirteen and a half hours, and years that last 726 days. Fruchtlos has an equatorial radius of 3,672.3 kilometres and a polar radius of 3,491.42 kilometres around. On average, the temperatures on Fruchtlos are about 200 Kelvin (-70° Celsius) during the daytime, and it can dip below 123 Kelvin (-150° Celsius) at night. There are numerous dormant volcanoes on Fruchtlos, and most of them take the shape of standard mountains; however, they contain molten iron, magnesium, and aluminium, alongside liquid propane and ethane, all under extremely high pressures with extremely high temperatures. Fruchtlos doesn't have any established stations or outposts on the surface of the planet (Although some probes have been dropped on the planet), and there are no natural nor any artificial satellites. Fruchtlos has a circular orbit eccentricity of 0.04. Shèshì Shèshì is a Neptunian ice giant planet that is set at around 9.51 AU from Stali. It is made up of solid methane and ammonia that take a similar composition to ice, silicate rock, and water ice. The thick and dense atmosphere of Shèshì is mostly hydrogen (86%), with small amounts of helium (around 10%), methane (3%), acetylene (0.64%), and carbon dioxide (0.3%). The polar radius of Shèshì is 36,824.92 kilometres, the equatorial radius is 37,585.81 kilometres, and a day on the planet lasts almost forty hours; years last 64,713 days. Shèshì's orbital eccentricity is circular, at 0.09. The average temperature on Shèshì is 70 Kelvin (-203° Celsius). There is a prominent ring system around the planet that is similar to Saturn's, but still significantly smaller than the ring system of Saturn. Shèshì does have a sizable amount of moons, however, with at least forty-eight moons and several hundred other orbitals. There are two moons that are larger than Saturn's moon Titan, (Akari and Subaru), and four others that are smaller but still have a large size (Akira, Chisato, Satoshi, and Akio). There are two man-made satellites orbiting two of these -- Akari and Satoshi. The station orbiting Akari is known as Probe Relay Station Akari, while the station around Satoshi is the Shèshì Orbital Depot. Ziel The farthest planet from Stali, Ziel is a Jovian gas giant with a high and elliptical orbit eccentricity of roughly 0.85. At its perihelion, Ziel is at about 42.5 AU from Stali, and at the aphelion, Ziel can be over 75 AU distant. The composition of Ziel is mostly water in the form of a gas, ammonia, hydrogen, and helium; the latter two take the form and behaviour of a metal due to the immense heat and pressure. Ziel's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen (85%) and helium (14%), with carbon dioxide and other gases making up the rest. The average temperature of Ziel is 70 Kelvin (-203° Celsius) at its perihelion, but an average aphelion temperature has not been recorded. Days last seven hours or so, while a year on Ziel is 100,546 Earth days. The equatorial radius of Ziel is 25,649.91 kilometres total, while the polar radius is around 25,511.3 kilometres. Ziel has both a ring system and nine total moons, only one of which is of a notable size. The ring system is similar to that of Jupiter, and the largest moon of Ziel is a little larger than Mercury, named Rustikal. Rustikal has one space station orbiting it, designated the Socrates Remote Scanning Outpost. Ziel itself nor any of the other moons have an orbiting artificial satellite. Other Bodies Moons There are fifty-eight moons in Alpha Narcissus, eight of which are especially notable. Those being Akari, Subaru, Akira, Chisato, Satoshi, Akio, all orbiting Shèshì; Verlaten, orbiting Initiation; and Rustikal, orbiting Ziel. Some have compositions and atmospheres that draw obvious similarities between them and their host planet, while some moons have very little in common, posing a mystery as to their origin. Verlaten, for example, has no atmosphere, but is made up of mostly titanium, nickel, and iron, all of which are prominent components of Initiation's makeup. This suggests that the moon was formed from pieces of the planet itself, likely from a collision that occurred millions of years prior.Verlaten takes about thirty-six days to orbit Initiation. There is far more variance with the moons of Ziel and Shèshì in terms of composition and atmosphere. For example, the two largest moons of Shèshì -- Akari and Subaru -- are extremely different. Subaru is the second largest, and is made mostly of calcium carbonate rock and sodium chloride rock. It has only a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide. On the other hand, Akari is more similar to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, having a mostly rocky surface with an extremely thick atmosphere. There are very few areas with liquid on Akari, and although this liquid flows like water does on Earth, it is in fact liquid propane. The atmosphere of Akari is, as noted, extremely thick, obscuring the surface of the planet entirely when viewed from orbit; it is made up of an even mixture of phosphorus gas, nitrogen gas, sulfur gas, oxygen gas, and fluorine gas. In addition to these, there are trace amounts of boron, helium, and hydrogen gas. It is the largest moon in Alpha Narcissus. Akira and Akio are both rather unique moons, as the atmospheres of both can and do support life. Akira has an atmosphere consisting of mostly oxygen, with small amounts of nitrogen. There are smaller amounts of carbon dioxide and even ethane gas, yet Akira supports a grassland environment consisting of small trees, grasses, and bushes. Akio has more of a forest environment, with towering trees, although an odd feature is that it is very hilly and mountainous. The atmosphere is similar to Akira’s, with mostly oxygen as well as smaller amounts of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Chisato is mostly just a ball of rock and ice with no atmosphere, being made up of silicate rock and water ice. Satoshi isn’t as unique either, with a composition alike to Chisato’s, although it does have a thin atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Rustikal is the largest moon of Ziel, and is made up of water ice almost entirely, save for a very small ocean under the surface of the ice. This ice is almost forty kilometres thick, with the ocean below being an estimated twelve kilometres deep from the bottom of the ice to the depth of the ocean. This water is not thought to support life, however, as there is just enough trace amounts of lead and manganese, both of which peculiarly take a liquid form despite the temperatures of the water averaging between 248 Kelvin (-25° Celsius) and 307 Kelvin (34° Celsius). The atmosphere of Rustikal is made up of a tenuous layer of nitrogen and a minimal amount of oxygen. Comets Comet-AN-2458/C1 is the singular known comet orbiting Stali, and it orbits the star on a path that takes it within viewing range from Initiation every 84 and a half years. The last time it did this was in the year 2459, meaning that 2544 is the next time it will be visible. Comet-AN-2458/C1 was first observed in 2458 as it moved closer to Initiation. As it passed, it was studied and observed; results showed that the comet was made up of water, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, all taking the form of ice. The tail is made of these elements and dusts as they are burnt off of the comet while it moves, and the average temperature of the comet is approximately 343 Kelvin (70° Celsius). At its closest point, Comet-AN-2458/C1 passes within 71.6 million miles of Initiation. Asteroids Alpha Narcissus has an asteroid belt consisting of an estimated 3.7 million asteroids; this asteroid belt is located at a range of 0.8 AU to 1.0 AU from Stali. The largest known asteroid in the belt measures almost six hundred kilometres in diameter, and is designated as Asteroid-AN-2400/A2445884. Trojans An odd feature of Alpha Narcissus is the number of Trojans located near the inner three planets. Despite their sizes, Initiation and Fruchtlos have accumulated a total of fifteen and nine Trojans respectively, all varying in size between 30 metres and 365 metres in diameter. Shèshì has attracted more than three thousand known Trojans, with the largest observed being about 500 metres in diameter. There are no known Trojans orbiting in the same path as Ziel. Space Stations The Moncton-class Orbital Defence Platforms are large orbital space stations operated by the United Nations Space Command, often placed in geosynchronous orbit to a planet. Orbital Defence Platforms are often used to guard high-value worlds or Inner Colonies, and are armed with point-defence guns as well as a large Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. A shot from this MAC can destroy a fully-shielded CSO-class Supercarrier, but a problem arises with moving the station into a firing position. There are two of these stations in the Alpha Narcissus system, both in orbit around the sole colony of Initiation. The two ODP over the planet are named Arion Station OWP-303, and New Memphis Station OWP-304. Probe Relay Stations are responsible for relaying information gathered by probes that can inform UNSC forces of vessel activity in the area; this could go for friendly UNSC warships, Insurrectionist vessels, or Covenant vessels. There is a single one of these stations in Alpha Narcissus, orbiting the largest moon of Shèshì, known as Akari. The station is designated Probe Relay Station Akari. Remote Scanning Outposts are stations located on the outer fringes of UEG colony systems, with a primary tasking of observing signs of pirates, slipspace anomalies, local slipspace activity, and scientific anomalies. RSO stations also have the responsibility of providing early warning messages to local UNSC forces in the case of a Covenant invasion, although the stations aren't always able to relay messages in time for local forces to prepare a sufficient defence. Most stations are equipped with three probes for observations, and have a small crew of UNSC Navy personnel. The one Remote Scanning Outpost in Alpha Narcissus is orbiting the largest moon of Ziel, known as Rustikal; the station is named the RSO Plutarch. History Discovery and Colonisation Alpha Narcissus was first observed as a single star in 2021. It had previously been thought to be the dominant star of a binary system, and was designated HD 28492 in 1924 when it was first seen. In 2021, however, additional studies showed that HD 28492 was in fact two different stars, and that what was thought to be the lesser star of the system was in fact almost 30 lightyears “behind” HD 28492. It was subsequently designated HD 92014. After that point, HD 28492 was observed more closely than it previously had been. This led to the discovery of two of the four exoplanets orbiting the star over the next few years, with yet another being discovered by 2150. Almost 400 years after it was discovered to be an independent system, HD 28492 was colonised as one of the last Inner Colonies in the 24th Century. Efforts were largely spearheaded by a German mining company based on Earth, named Ng-Strelling GmbH; the project to colonise one of HD 28492’s exoplanets -- of which was in the habitable zone and was abundant in valuable metals, as a prior probe expedition had proven -- was funded mostly by the company. By 2379, the first mining colonies popped up on the exoplanet, and the system was renamed to Alpha Narcissus while the exoplanet was named “Initiation,” as it was Ng-Strelling’s first official venture outside the Sol System. Over the next few years, settlements spread across Initiation, most of them growing into prosperous cities as they mined a range of different metals, including titanium -- a metal that was invaluable to the United Nations Space Command as they developed Titanium-A for their vehicles and space warships. As this went on, Ng-Strelling effectively ruled, influencing elections for the company and colony’s favour and operating the mines privately, with minimal interaction with the United Earth Government. Spread Throughout The System By 2417, Initiation had been entirely settled, and was considered a very successful mining world. Over the next few years, several expeditions were led deeper into the system to get to know the surrounding planets as well as the system’s star, which was named “Stali.” The other planets were renamed as well, and installations orbiting some of the other planets were put into space. However, most of the populace remained on Initiation, and by 2480, most of the other stations in the system were retrieved and decommissioned. As some of the mining resources on Initiation ran low, the prosperity of the world died down a little; this led to many workers being put out of the job, affecting thousands. This would soon lead to an Insurrectionist cell taking roots in the planet’s society, many enraged due to the loss of their jobs, and others simply wanting freedom from Ng-Strelling, or the UEG entirely. Rise Of The Insurrection Initiation always had one or two UNSC bases for every region, but for most of the planet’s early years they weren’t really needed as there were not really any sufficient threats that would warrant a massive force; in addition, Ng-Strelling provided security forces of its own for the cities and settlements around the planet. But following a sudden shortage of platinum, thousands of employees were laid off, giving rise to unemployment. Combined with rumours beginning to circulate about the colony’s corporate government -- most perpetuated by ex-employees -- tensions rose as distrust became a very common feeling directed at Ng-Strelling. After several minor incidents that insurgent cells claimed responsibility for, Ng-Strelling began to tighten its grip on Initiation’s populace and economy, only leading to more resentment. In August of 2486, a major incident occurred in the city of New Tyre, wherein an Insurrectionist faction named “Liberty For Initiation” hacked and took control of almost six hundred drones owned by Ng-Strelling, and committed a terrorist attack that killed sixty-two people, wounded more than five hundred, and cost upwards of six million credits worth of damages, all by more or less having the drones fly themselves into buildings or by crashing them in public areas. This attack was reported across the Inner Colonies, and the severity of it caused the United Earth Government to station more UNSC forces on Initiation while keeping a closer eye on Ng-Strelling. After another year or so, several more incidents occurred, including bombings and even an assassination of a company official; all these attacks seemed to be focused specifically on Ng-Strelling officials and assets. And by 2488, the UEG finally removed Ng-Strelling from power on Initiation, and stationing even more UNSC forces on the world to combat the still-growing Insurrection. Liberty For Initiation rose to prominence in the months following the UEG takeover, with the group's primary goal being to gain independence from not just their former corporate governance, but also their new overseers. Still, as the UNSC presence strengthened on the world, Liberty For Initiation slowly faded, becoming only a minor threat by the turn of the century. They remained active well into the 2500’s, but rarely did anything of note aside from an occasional attack. Human-Covenant War When the Human-Covenant War broke out in 2525, the citizens of Initiation were mostly uncaring or oblivious to the threat, like many other Inner Colonies. Thus, things continued on “as usual,” although things began to change on the world and out in the Alpha Narcissus system. Over the colony's “capital” of sorts, New Utica, a spaceport was built, while two Orbital Defence Platforms were installed over the cities of Arion and New Memphis in 2525 to 2527. UNSC presence slightly decreased as well, but more installations around other planets were commissioned by 2535. However, Alpha Narcissus would not see any real threats from the Covenant until 2544; following the Battle of Miridem, which resulted in a UNSC defeat, Covenant vessels invaded the system by following a tracking beacon placed on the UNSC Double Take, a Halcyon-class Light Cruiser which happened to be one of the few UNSC vessels that escaped the destruction of Miridem; Bravo Platoon was aboard the ship as it made its way to the Alpha Narcissus system. Moments after the beacon was discovered, Covenant warships jumped into Alpha Narcissus, boarding the New Utica Spaceport where the UNSC Double Take was docked, as well as the cruiser itself. After a group of Bravo finished saving a group of civilians trapped by Covenant boarders, the Bravo personnel still alive moved into the Double Take, gathering their armour, gear, and weapons once inside. When they finished, they headed to the ship's reactors to destroy them in accordance with the Cole Protocol, encountering several Special Operations Elites that had never been properly identified previously in the war. When the reactors were armed, what remained of Bravo dropped down to the surface of Initiation while the UNSC Double Take exploded, taking the New Utica Spaceport with it. Trivia *Patricia Singh, a rifleman in Bravo Platoon's second squad, was born and raised on Initiation. Her parents were Insurrectionist sympathisers. Category:Great Reset Category:Locations